Turnbull 'open to feedback'

Malcolm Turnbull has made light of the awkward moment when he was heckled while preaching to the party faithful.

The prime minister was jeered during a speech to the NSW Liberal Party State Council on Saturday after saying the Liberals were not ruled by factions or big business.

"It's good to get some constructive feedback," Mr Turnbull told reporters on the Gold Coast on Sunday.

He said he was trying to make the point that the parliamentary Liberal Party was a much more independent group of individuals.

Senior Liberal Andrew Robb agreed.

"Factions are part of everyday life ... we have got factions, always have in the Liberal Party, but they don't control us and that's a big difference," Mr Robb, a former federal director of the Liberal Party, told Sky News.

But Mr Robb, the minster for trade, said Mr Turnbull's comments did stir the passions of one or two in the audience but he was told the rest of it was largely good humoured.

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There is still anger in some parts of the party that Tony Abbott was dumped from the leadership.

Mr Robb did not see Mr Abbott staying in the parliament being a problem for the party at this stage.

My Abbott made a very clear statement after he lost the leadership that he would not be a source of destabilisation in the rundown to the next election, a commitment Mr Robb believes he will keep.

He said Mr Abbott and the prime minister have been great friends for a long time and have worked together quite constructively, even when the roles were reversed and Mr Turnbull lost the leadership in 2009.

He expects Mr Abbott is still bruised after recent events and needs to allow time for the reality to soak in before deciding on his future options.

"I think it's too early to start pointing where he should go, what he should do. It's his call obviously," Mr Robb said.

Deputy Nationals Leader Barnaby Joyce is still not happy with the way the prime ministership was changed and doesn't think Mr Abbott would have taken the coalition "over a cliff".

"It is what it is. We are now going to make this thing work," he told Sky News.

He said it was important that the coalition agreement was honoured and everyone worked together as a team so the Australian people had a clear choice at the next election.

"That is for competent government, which is our side, or what you are seeing exactly with (Opposition Leader) Bill Shorten and his gyrations on the Chinese free trade agreement," Mr Joyce said.